Dwyane Wade Writing Memoir About Fatherhood

So what was Dwyane Wade up to during his lockout free time? Apparently penning a memoir about his experiences as a child and as a father to his children. The book, A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger than Basketball, is expected to be released in September.

Wade has two boys, Zaire and Zion, with his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, and after a protracted divorce battle, was awarded sole custody of the boys in March 2011.

"I don't have to share it with people," Wade told the Associated Press. "But I felt there was a need. So many people came up to me in this process, so many fathers, so many men came up to me to congratulate me and to ask me how, how I did it and why I believed I could do it."

The book will be released by William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint, and will also recount memories from Wade's own childhood near Chicago being raised by his divorced father.

Wade apparently is no stranger to writing. He wrote sports stories for his high school newspaper and once considered a career in journalism (Good call going with the basketball, D-Wade, but if you ever feel like doing some freelance blogging, get in touch). He's also dabbled in poetry and journal writing.

"People will get a better understanding of me as a person," Wade says. "Even people who might think they know all there is, there's things you can learn about me that you don't know. People know that in 2008 I had one of my best seasons, averaged 30 points a game, had some of my best games. But they don't know what I had to deal with before tip-off or right after the game. It's not focused on basketball, but it all wraps together and tells a story."